


the frog prince

by imaginarybarista



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Medieval, Sleeping Beauty - Freeform, but louis saves him first, fairy tale, frog prince - Freeform, frog!harry, harry saves the day, harry's got secrets, kingdom - Freeform, royal!louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-09
Updated: 2013-11-09
Packaged: 2017-12-31 22:59:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1037396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginarybarista/pseuds/imaginarybarista
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>louis finds a frog. except the frog isn't a frog, and both the prince and the frog realize they need to help each other out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the frog prince

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking to myself "this fandom needs some fairy tale AUs" and I was gonna do a simple rewrite of the frog prince. Then I had an idea and it sort of just snowballed. There are Cinderella elements and Sleeping Beauty elements because why not. I wrote this and if something doesn't make sense, I promise it will by the end of the story or your money back.

Once upon a time... 

a kingdom exists, stretching for many miles. It’s domain includes mountains and valleys, rivers and forests, the heart of caves and the shore of a distant sea. 

It’s ruled by a royal family which is blessed: the calm King and caring Queen have many healthy children with another on the way, loyal citizens, an elaborate castle at the peak of a mountain, and peace reigns.

One autumn evening, the eldest prince decides to take a walk of the castle grounds.

Words had been exchanged with a foreign diplomat and Louis’s temper had flared. He’d sat through all his boring classes with his tutors and had been following his father to meetings for the last two years, so he knew the diplomatic and mature thing to do was get the fuck out before anybody had been offended (other than Louis). 

So he has gently excused himself from the after-dinner library discussion and is padding down the stone-floored corridor, past the high walls hung with banners. A few minutes later, and he’s slipping through one of the heavy wooden doors and slinking along the castle’s exterior walls until he reaches the path he wants to take.

He’s wearing his regular slippers, so he doesn’t mind taking them down the crushed gravel path. But he only has on his velvet bottoms and tights with a regular shirt and waistcoat, and the temperature is dropping yet as he walks. Nonetheless, he ignores the chilliness and walks on.

His footfalls are muffled as the gravelled path leads him away from the castle and towards the wood. The path takes him to a garden, covered in English ivy and astilbe, with bright red fire bushes providing bright color even when no flowers bloom in the fall. 

If he chooses to keep walking the path, he’ll be able to sit next to the serenity fountain on the wooden bench. Louis knows for a fact that it is where his mother goes when she needs space, and he likes it in the early mornings when the birds come to their bath. 

Instead, Louis slips off the designated path and onto one that he’s made for himself. At the moment, it’s hard to see the path because it’s covered in leaf litter and orange pine needles. But underneath, it’s there. It’s definitely there, and Louis doesn’t need to see it to know. 

He starts moving quicker now, eager to be out of sight of the castle. He knows anyone who discovers his disappearance will be pissed, but the woods aren’t dangerous. At least, he doesn’t think so. His father would never allow his little sisters to live so close to the forest if it was. Plus, when he and his father go on hunting trips, to woods that are actually threatening, they always travel at least two days. 

Then again, they always have a royal guard assembly with them. Eh. Louis stumbles on, nearly losing his balance as his loose leather boot-slipper catches on an outcropping rock. His arms reach out to catch him, but he’s already righted himself. Apparently, he’s graceful. His mother’s genes.

He tries not to think that his parents’ relationship was planned, his mother came with a dowry and an impressive family tree. His mother is pretty, stylish, a wonderful mother, loves the gardens. His father is strong, decisive, protective, and can be selfish. Basically, your typical royal couple with an arranged marriage meant to pull the best genes from both parents to produce the next generation. Louis is the first-born, but the only son. He knows his parents want another son. The just in case son. That’s not frightening at all...

Louis walks for about ten more minutes, until he reaches his final destination. It’s about a mile from his home, and he doesn’t visit frequently. It’s too far to easily slip off to all the time, he normally doesn’t roam this far.

There’s a small spring that runs down, away from the castle. It’s got a huge boulder next to it though, and Louis happens to know that it’s perfect for sitting on in the sun. If he follows the little stream for a few minutes, he gets to another rock that juts out over a sudden drop in the stream.

The stream moves slowly in some parts but speeds up around a bend before it gets suddenly, strangely, deep. When Louis first came the summer before last, maybe fifteen months ago, it was summer and hot. He’d been splashing his feet in the shallows before shucking off his clothes to go further. 

He’d discovered he could actually swim in the little section of stream, but had never been to the bottom. 

This time, however, he stays fully dressed. The sky is already periwinkle, the blue blending with gray and will get closer to an inky dark blue as the night ages.

He settles for launching himself up and climbing the stone that overhangs the deep. The shallow and the deep, that’s how he likes to think of this place, his stream. It really is his, even if he’s only come out here four or five times. 

Something clinks in his pocket when he sits down, bumping against the hard stone. He reaches a hand inside his trousers and comes up with a small golden ball. He has no clue where it came from, but he’s intrigued. 

It could be from Margot, one of the maid’s daughters. She’s only five and she loves to play with Louis’s sisters, and she sometimes brings Louis presents. Then again, Samantha also sometimes brings him things. She’s fourteen and Louis thinks it’s sweet she has a crush. But she’s one of the girls who works on the royal family’s stitching for their wardrobes (rich as they are, it’s often easier to restitch an old gown or dress for a younger sister than create and pay for an entire new outfit.).

Either way, he rolls the ball around his palm. It’s warm, from being in his pocket, but it’s small. Maybe the size of a walnut, perhaps a bit bigger. It’s rather cute. Sort of like a light marble, it feels hollow inside. He flings it up into the air a few times, catching it easily. 

He’s caught up in his newfound toy, thinking about nothing as he distracts himself by playing catch with himself, when there’s a flash of white in his peripheral vision. Startled, Louis drops the ball. It hits the rock he’s on with a clink and Louis pinwheels his arms for a second to try to regain his balance from the double take he took and then his reflexes kicking in to get the ball. 

He watches with a sinking heart as it plinks down off the boulder, falls silently through the air, then hits the water with a splash before sinking down into the stream. 

His heart’s pounding, a nervous sort of fear about being caught-- alone-- in the woods, nearing nightfall. He hadn’t heard anything, but he swore he saw something... there’s nothing there when he looks again, so he peers over the edge of the boulder to see if he can see the ball. Unfortunately, it’s fallen into the deep. Unrecoverable. He hopes Sam or Margie won’t mind too much. Still, it looked like a pretty elaborate toy. Not just a thoughtless gift. 

He bites his lip. He sort of feels terrible about dropping it, and it couldn’t be that hard to get back, right?

He scrambles down the rock before peeling off his jacket and shirt quickly. He toes off his shoes and before he can think about the cold the freezing the dark deep that he can’t see through, he dives in. 

The instant his hands touch the water, shock erupts across his body. He kicks, hard, propelling himself downwards. The water’s like ink though, once he gets more than a few feet down he can’t see anything. 

He pops up for a second, gasps for air. He’s treading water and making a fuss. His body is starting to shudder because the water is fucking freezing. He knows enough not to drown, but he doesn’t swim that often. Why would he? He’s basically never had to, he’s only seen one pool in his life, and that was on a trip to another nation for an educational visit.

When his lungs are filled, he goes down again. He sinks, windmills his arms to push himself down. He still can’t see anything. It’s a struggle to keep his eyes open, and he’s never had great vision to begin with. Everything is murky... except... 

There’s something gleaming. It looks like it’s a league away, it’s completely unreachable. But it’s got a golden glow, it’s an orb that just happens to be gleaming. It’s the only thing he can see...

And then he’s kicking for air again. He doesn’t bother going down again.

He climbs out of the stream, soaking wet. He stands there, shivering. Why the fuck was the ball glowing? 

Why was it so far away? The rest of the creek was maybe three feet deep, except this one part. And of course it had to be where the ball would roll. 

Louis began to feel overwhelmed. His own future was out of his hands. He’d been trained for life as a prince, then a king, since he was a toddler. The things the diplomat had said about life in his country, the things he insinuated about Louis... and now this, he couldn’t even keep ahold of the one sort of fun game he had. In his special place. And now it was dark, and a breeze had picked up and he was wearing nothing but waterlogged pants.

He squatted down and held his head in his hands for a moment. 

Out of nowhere, a voice spoke up. “There, there, prince. No need to be upset. It’s only just a ball, it’ll be--” 

Louis sprung off the ground, eyes darting around as he looked up, looked around. Nobody... nobody was there. He spun, looking over his shoulder. Nobody.

What the fuck. The woods became ten times creepier at night, no, a thousand.

“Here... look down, I’m down here.” 

Louis automatically glanced down at his feet. There was nothing there, except... suddenly, a rock moved. Hopped. Wasn’t a rock anymore, was a toad? Wait. A frog? 

Louis hesitantly squatted down. “Hello?” 

“Yeah, mate, down here!” Louis looked carefully. It seemed like the little frog... was smiling? 

Louis had heard of such things. Magic was a common thing, but the most magic that anyone in his kingdom had was the type that dusted the house or washed dishes. This was nothing ordinary. 

“Hello, frog.”

“Hello yourself, prince. Are you upset?” 

Louis found himself smiling even though he had just been scrubbing his hands through his hair in stress. “How do you know I’m a prince?”

The frog seemed almost human as it smirked. At least, Louis thought it smirked. “Magic.” 

Louis just nodded. “Okay.” 

The frog bopped it’s head. “So. You seemed a little down. I can get that ball for you, you know, if it’d make you feel better?”

Louis’s voice was traced with doubt. “Are you sure you could? I mean, it’d be great if you could... but I don’t really know if you could. I mean, it’s really deep.”

The little frog merely waved one little webbed hand up for a second before leaping away in a quick bound. A few more jumps and it plunged into the stream. 

A laugh escaped Louis as he waited. He was going nuts. It was foolish, thinking that a frog-- a talking frog-- could retrieve the little golden ball.

But it was less than a minute later when the ball was rolling towards him. Louis reached out, cupping the sphere lightly. “Thanks, little frog,” he said a bit reverently. 

“No problem,” the frog said. “Now if you could just do me a favor?” 

Louis doesn’t think for a second. “I guess. Just... I don’t know if I can do anything superhuman.” 

The frog lets out a little hiccuping sound that Louis realizes is actually a laugh. Or maybe a giggle? “Just put me in your pocket, kind prince?”

Louis’s brows knit for a second. “Alright?” He puts a hand down, and the frog hops into it. Louis almost drops him, but slips him into his pocket. “You good?” 

“Yeah,” comes a little voice from inside his pocket. “I can breathe. Your pants being wet help.” 

Louis rolls his eyes while the frog can’t see him. Maybe he has hypothermia. He’ll get back to the castle, his pockets will be empty of both frog and ball. 

He slips his shirt and jacket back on, tugs his boots on. 

He’s halfway home when the voice pipes up again. “So. What’s your name, fine prince?”

“...Louis.” 

“That’s a nice name.” 

“Thanks.”

Louis continues in silence. It’s so dark now he is struggling to stay on his path home. He trips over the same rock and goes down hard. He instinctively twists his body as he falls so that he lands on his right side, trying to not crush the tiny amphibian in his right pocket. He tumbles and his wrists are scratched nastily as he lifts his body while it turns. A few dizzying moments later and he sits upright in the middle of a pile of leaves.

“...Louis?” a tiny voice peeps. 

Oh, thank God it’s alive. Not that Louis really should care, it’s just a little frog, it shouldn’t be worth Louis’s bodily harm. But. It can talk. It has a life. It probably isn’t even an “it.”

“Yes, Frog?” 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Mmhmm, fine.”

Louis stands up slowly. His tailbone aches. He seems to be missing a shoe. Whatever. He’s hearing noises now, probably just the wind whistling through the trees. But he’s been gone long enough for people to have noticed. He should’ve just been out and back but this ordeal...

He walks out of the forest a few minutes later. His pants are wet. Both pockets are slightly heavier than when he left the castle. His hair has a few leaves stuck in it that he missed brushing out. And he’s only got one shoe on. Definition of Louis right now? Bedraggled.

He can’t help but think of the young woman he saw once when he was younger, maybe eleven. He’d been in the village, it was about four in the morning. He’d snuck out (a rebel, even then) and was planning on being back in time for his nursemaid to wake him up for breakfast, but had seen a girl sneaking about too. She was probably five or ten years older than him, and she looked like Louis does now. Messy hair, clutching clothing, one shoe. She had fallen out of a window, which is what caught Louis’s attention. Then she’d proceeded to run as fast as she could to what was probably her own home, where she quietly crept in.

He now knows how she felt. Rushed, maybe a little ashamed. Of course, now he understands what the girl was doing, and he doesn’t have a real reason to be ashamed other than the fact that it’s pretty fucking unacceptable that he, the future crown of this kingdom, is sneaking into his own castle barely clothed and looking like a disgrace. 

He creeps along and goes round back, avoiding where the guards are. He makes a mental note to change their schedule-- any intruder could memorize their schedule from observing them for more than two days. 

He sneaks along until he sees the one guard he trusts and bolts from the tree line to the castle. Crossing the lawn feels like it takes ten minutes, but really it’s only maybe thirty seconds.

“Stan!” he hisses. The guard flicks his head up quickly, takes Louis in. 

“What the hell?” 

“No questions, please, Stan, be a mate. Just get me up?”

“Yeah, man, alright,” Stan lets out with a sigh. “I’ve got you.”

Louis is generally very responsible. He does what his parents want him to. He just tends to sneak out maybe a little more than normal rebellious royalty. He has a system down pat with Stan, who boosts him up a ledge to a foothold where Louis can grab onto another window sill and launch himself onto his patio, where he can break into his own room. Maybe that isn’t so safe either, to sleep where it’s so easy for someone to break in. Eh.

Ten minutes later, Louis is stripping. He leaves his clothes in a pile in the small corridor between the bathroom and his bedroom. The bath is steaming, hot water having just been dumped into it. 

Louis groans as he eases himself in. He knows one of his men is close by, meant to wait hand and foot on him as well as advise him, when the time comes. “Reagan?”

The man’s footsteps can be heard against stone. “Yes, sir?”

“Some privacy, please?” 

“As you wish, milord.” 

He hears the man walking away. Then there is a slight slapping noise as little webbed feet patter against tile. “Prince?”

“Frog?” he sighs. At least he was smart enough to wait to speak until Louis knew he wouldn’t be overheard.

“Just... one more favor?”

“Yes?” 

“Um, so you may not believe me,” the frog starts. “But, I’m like, sort of not a frog?” 

Louis chuckles. “Frog, if you need a mirror, I can provide.” 

“No, I’ve seen my reflection. I know what I am.”

“Then explain.”

“I... came into a spot of trouble. I... don’t have the words to explain. I only ask that you repay kindness with kindness?”

“Stop speaking in metaphors or whatever.”

“I need you to keep me for three nights.”

“Keep you?” Louis pours some oil into the bathwater, and the room takes on the light smell of sweet rose.

“Prince, I only need to not return to the stream for three nights. And the gold ball... please don’t lose it?” 

Louis is confused, and so, so tired. Whatever. He just wants to go to bed, rest his sore limbs from that stupid fall. And he needs an excuse for needing new clothes. “Yeah, fine. Just... hop around or whatever. Avoid the maids. And the girls. My sisters, I mean. They’ll freak out if they see you.”

“Um...” the voice, already small, seems to shrink.

“What?” Louis may be a tiny bit exasperated now. His peaceful bath is not so peaceful.

“You found me, you know? You looked down and saw me and then I got your ball? I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’ve got to like, be with you-with you. Like, I need to be with you all the time for three nights?”

Louis just sighs. 

====

The next morning, Louis wakes up and dings his bell. Reagan appears out of nowhere, doesn’t seem to notice the little frog sleeping in a nest of scarves on Louis’s nightstand. He wordlessly hands Louis stockings, trousers, a shirt. “Your father wants to speak over breakfast. Then you’ve got cultural studies until your lunch, when you’ll dine with Miss Umeralt. Then you have maps and navigational studies, and then dinner, and then your time is yours to do as you wish. Your mother is decorating the nursery tonight, if you wish to observe.”

“Great, thank you Reagan.” It’s sarcasm, but not even Reagan can pick up on it. Louis is perfectly perfect at being polite. 

Reagan does hear the dismissal in the words, and smoothly heads out of Louis’s room and presumably to his dining hall. 

Louis prods the amphibian with his index finger. It-- he-- the little frog-- gives a surprised ribbit and is awake. And then giving it’s version of a smile. “Good morning, prince!”

“The same to you, Frog.” Louis extends a hand. “Ready for some pocket time?” 

The frog’s “smile” disappears. “Yup. Sorry about that, by the way.”

Louis shrugs. “I’m the one who will look crazy if people see.” The frog is slipped into his pocket. 

====

Breakfast is a struggle. “Persephone is a lovely young lady, Louis.” 

Louis would rather eat his strawberries and banana and nut bread in peace, thank you. 

“You will be dining with her this afternoon, I’m sure you are aware?” His father asks. Louis nods. “Have you thought anymore about what Clarence said last night?” 

“Mm.” Louis takes his chance to shove more bread in his mouth. He thinks Clarence the ambassador can go die in a hole.

His father sighs at him. “Well, I’m leaving in a few days with Clarence. I’d like it if you came with me, or would step in for me here while I’m gone. We’ll discuss it more later.” 

And with that, Louis has been dismissed. His father leaves the room seconds later while Louis stays alone at the table. He sometimes wishes his sisters didn’t eat breakfast in their rooms, but then again, he’d rather them enjoy being little before they have to start their own lessons. 

====

That night, after the frog has taken a brief dip in Louis’s sink, he’s cuddled up in his scarf bed again. “You know, you’re a pretty terrific prince.”

Louis can’t see anything in the room, the curtains are drawn and his room would be drafty if not for the fire that’s been lit. “Why do you say that?” 

“It’s... you’re just polite, even when I think you want to stomp your feet or be childish. It’s why you were so upset at the stream, am I right?” 

Louis turns on his side, back to the nightstand table. “I’m a prince. I don’t get upset. I just deal with problems.”

The room is quiet for a moment, before the little voice speaks up a final time. “Well, still. You do a good job dealing, I can tell.” And then both the prince and frog are quiet, neither sleeping nor speaking.

====

The next morning, Louis doesn’t have to meet with anybody over breakfast, which means he can actually sleep in. His lessons don’t begin until ten, so he has until then to dine and make himself presentable. 

The fine piece of time telling equipment on his wrist tells him he still has plenty of time. He rolls over, flops out of bed. He lazily makes his way to his windows and slides the curtains open before settling back into bed. 

“Morning, Frog.”

“Morning, prince.” 

Louis has the golden ball in his hand again. He’s not thrown it in the air since being at the boulder. He doesn’t know where it came from, because both Sam and Margot denied having anything to do with it and they’re terrible liars. 

The frog just watches Louis. He proves to be a solid companion to Louis. Louis figured out a way to sit so that his tutor couldn’t see the little amphibian on his shoulder during lessons, and the frog had whispered anecdotes to him when the crotchety old man had said stupid things or when Louis’s parents threw yet another responsibility, date, ball invitation at him. 

Louis wonders every now and then if he’s actually insane. Talking to voices inside his head? But then during dinner, the frog hops off Louis’s shoulder. He’s meant to be slyly on the table, eating mashed potatoes off a spoon Louis has innocently laying on the table. Everybody is so spread out around the table and there are so many things in the way-- gravy boats, candelabras, his mother’s floral arrangements-- that nobody would see. Or at least, nobody should see. But then dessert is being served before the Queen called for it, which is punishable and an idiotic mistake on the kitchen master’s part, but then one of the staff, servants, whatever they’re referred to nowadays, spots the frog. 

She screams, a tureen of ice cream or berries is dropped. The clang reverberates and then the littlest daughters are shrieking and somebody is trying to kill the frog with a dinner plate. Food is everywhere. Mashed potatoes are on the upholstery, gravy is on the walls, peas are on the floor. Shit. 

Louis dives in for the frog and captures him. Shit. 

He’s saved from explaining himself, luckily. In the hullabaloo, it seems people lost track of the actual frog in favor of trying to duck and cover to survive the sudden food blitz. It looks like a food fight has been started.

Louis is doing his best not to giggle. It’s not funny, his parents look like they’re fuming, and the one servant girl looks terrified, but Louis is simply attempting not to snort into his sleeve. 

He dashes off with a lame excuse over his shoulder. When he gets to his own bedroom, he cackles. “Did you see that? Oh my god, Frog, I thought you were done for!” 

The frog gives a weird croaky laugh, but then seems worried. “Well, thanks for saving me! I just keep racking up favors from you.” 

“Nah, you earned it. You’re actually keeping me sane with this whole marriage proposal thing my parents have got started. Did you know I’m quite the eligible bachelor?” Louis rolls his eyes.

The frog mocks him. “You’re such a stud, a poor frog like me could only hope to be in your pocket and no one else’s.” 

That night, they stay up and talk. The frog has been privy to a lot of Louis’s life, and he’s surprisingly helpful in certain situations. He’d whispered answers to Louis’s questions about dragon-taming from one tutor. At first, Louis had been confused, but the frog was getting the right answers, so what did it matter? Louis just wished for some sort of explanation for the ball and the talking and the three day requirement that the frog asked for.

====

The third day, after the second night with the frog, goes quickly for Louis. His father prepares to leave for a few weeks, his mother sits around a lot more. 

That night, his mother drops her water goblet while poking around her plate. She’s paler than usual, and her first lady in waiting springs up to help her hobble away from the table.

That night, Louis goes to bed thinking about his mother. Labor is difficult, but it isn’t proper for him to be present in the birthing suite. That’s his father’s place, if he feels like it. 

That night he falls asleep after telling the frog his honest fears and hopes. What if something happens to his mother-- what if his father is harmed on his trip-- what if his new sibling is born deaf or blind? The frog offers reassurance and Louis falls asleep with the little amphibian on it’s own pillow on Louis’s bed. 

====

The next morning, shit hits the fan. Louis blinks his eyes open because a rattling, buzzing noise is insistently rubbing at his subconscious before he wakes up. When he is awake, he sees the impossible. 

The gold ball from earlier is pulsing on the nightstand table. The frog is up on the pillow, hopping nervously. 

“What the fuck?” Louis exclaims. 

The frog’s croaking now. “My time! It’s!” 

Louis turns to the frog. “What?!”

“I’ve stayed three nights away from the stream. I don’t have to remain a frog anymore!” 

Louis feels his heart sink. Seriously, the talking frog thing was a stretch. But it honestly thinks it won’t be a frog anymore?

Before he can say anything, the frog is stretching. It’s front legs are morphing, elongating, paling. They’re growing, there are hands, oh good lord, Louis is going to pass out. He’s seeing things. It’s not real. It can’t be...

With a strange smacking noise, in just a second the frog is completely gone. In it’s place, lying on the bed next to a sitting Louis, is... a boy.

The boy is very, very naked. Louis blushes bright red and pushes blankets at him. The boy reaches out, fingers skimming Louis’s when he grabs the sheet and pulls it over his lap. His face is red to match Louis’s. 

“Hey, prince.”

“Frog?” Louis is pretty sure his jaw is on the floor. 

“Yes, prince, I was a frog. But I’m actually a person. I was just bewitched.” 

Louis’s mouth is still hanging open. 

“There’s a whole story,” the boy continues. His eyes are the same dark green as the frog’s skin, and he’s they’re big and round. His hands are giant, long fingers sort of stretching out like a frog’s might. Louis can’t deal with this right now. 

“Who are you?” It seems like the easiest question.

“Harry. Harry Styles.” 

“Oh. Okay.” Louis might be in shock. Yup, definitely in shock. 

“I was out, and this woman approached me. She asked me for help finding mushrooms and I thought she was a little odd, so I declined. Then before I knew what was happening she was cursing me, told me I’d only get my life back if I could convince others to be kind.”

“So that’s why you needed favors from me?”

Harry nodded. “It’s also why you have the ball. I wasn’t allowed to say anything as a frog. But anybody in a close enough proximity to me gets one. It has... well, like the... essence? The essence of me inside. If they aren’t careful, they can damage it and I’m toast. Or... I pop up, and they meet me and I try to win them over.”

“So I take it I’m the first one you managed?” 

“Yeah... you were the first to show up. I thought I was gonna die a frog.” 

“Well. Now what do I do with the ball?” 

Harry looks over to the golden orb, where it’s resting quietly on the nightstand. It seems to have expended all it’s energy in *poofing* Harry back into a boy. Man. Boy.

“I think it’s actually mine, now. It was your’s to find to come get me, and now that you have... thank you, kind Prince.” Harry and Louis are both sitting on the bed still, and Harry reaches for one of Louis’s hands and kisses the back of it. 

Louis nods, a bit dumbstruck. “Very well. Um. I... have to go now. Check on my mother. I don’t know what I’ll tell my family? Or the guards? Oh my god. Oh, shit, how do I explain this?”

Louis doesn’t know protocol for this. Does he extend hospitality? Does he move on, see the frog-- man, he mentally corrects himself-- out? He can’t let anybody see. For God’s sake, he has a naked man in his room. If people heard...

Harry just smiles easily at him. “It’ll all work out. Go on, check on your mother. I’ll be fine.”

Louis nods, scrambles out of bed. He quickly dresses himself-- he can’t risk having Reagan come in right now. Then he slips out of his bedroom and dashes to his mother’s suite. 

A lady-in-waiting is outside the door. “Your mother is resting, sir.” 

“How is she, from last night?”

“Last night was just some womens’ trouble, master,” the young woman tells Louis. “No need to worry, sir, she’s just to stay in bed. She’s nearly due, she probably won’t leave this room until the baby is born.” 

Louis lets out a breath of relief. He waves at the girl and she quickly backs away from the door. Louis knocks softly and pushes the door open.

It creaks, and his mother looks up from her bed at the noise. “Louis,” she calls softly, fondness coloring her words. 

“Mum,” he says, moving to hold her hand and stand next to the bed. His mother looks tired, her skin lighter than usual, hair flat and limp compared to it’s normal pressed curl updo thing that a maid puts up every morning for her. She’s tucked into her bed and propped up on a ton of pillows. “How are you feeling?” 

His mother chuckles quietly. “Just a bit of discomfort, love. Nothing I haven’t felt before, dear.” Her thumb moves on the back of Louis’s hand in comfort. “But thanks for coming by.” Louis smiles at her. “But don’t feel like you need to stay, love. Go, eat breakfast. Play with your sisters. Write a letter to that pleasant Persephone.” Louis tries to hide a grimace. “Go on, it’ll give me a chance to see your father off.” Louis nods and bends down, giving his mum a kiss on the cheek before heading back to his own room.

Louis returns to his bedroom to find it alarmingly empty. No Harry in sight... Oh, shit. Louis scrambles, paces out of his room. He finds Stan and asks if anybody has noticed anybody in the castle. He’s trying to be discreet and Stan doesn’t say anything. He probably thinks Louis simply entertained a lady guest overnight, and winks and says none of the other guards have discovered anyone. 

Well, at least that is somewhat comforting-- no unexplained naked boy running around the castle. 

Louis doesn’t know if he thinks he made the whole thing up and is ready to accept that Harry never existed, when he discovers the golden ball on the ground in his room. 

====

Two days pass and Louis finds himself rubbing the ball in his pocket. He’s started to miss Harry, having the commentary through his lessons and somebody to sympathize with him over the things he’s expected to do. 

His father returns from his trip, cutting the whole thing short because of his mother’s condition. That night, Harry shows up.

The king had just returned and the whole family (Reagan, Stan and some other guards, his father’s advisors, the little girls) with the exception of the queen were all clustered in the great room, with servants coming in bearing trunks of luggage and gifts and the like. Louis is in the middle of listening to an idea about regulating axle width on carriages when Harry is suddenly standing in the room, having come in behind a few servants but not moving on like the rest.

“Harry?” Louis turns from his father to peer at him quizzically. 

“Who?” The king asks, puzzled, turning to see where Louis is looking.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness, milords,” Harry is saying, bowing.

“What...?” Louis doesn’t know what to ask. He’d assumed Harry had moved on with his life. But here he stands... the ball is still in his pocket and it gives a quick, faint vibration.

“... am I doing here?” Harry asks Louis. 

“You know him?” Louis ignores his father, stepping closer to Harry.

Harry holds out his hands-- a small package is in them. “I thought you might like this?”

Louis takes the package and rips the paper off it. He’s left holding his shoe, the one that slipped off when he fell carrying the frog back to safety and the castle.

Harry takes it from his hands and bends down. Louis shoots him a confused look, and Harry just smiles enigmatically and taps his ankle. “Lift.”

Louis obeys and then Harry’s taking off the slipper currently on Louis’s foot, replacing it with the one lost in the forest. Harry stands up, still looking at Louis. 

“Would somebody please tell me what is going on?” The king asks, frustrated. The guards and kingsmen have been talking quietly among themselves, but hush when the king speaks. Louis’s sisters are all hiding behind his and their father’s legs.

“Harry Styles, your Highness,” Harry says to the king. “Just returning something the Prince lost.”

“It’s fine, Dad, he’s just... Harry... it’s just my shoe.” Louis tries to add helpfully. (It’s not helpful at all.)

“You are a stranger, inside my house!?” The king’s voice is getting louder. “You have my son’s shoe? His shoe?” For some reason, Louis’s gut is twisting. “Get out! Get out of my house!” 

Harry backs away, hands in the air. “My apologies, milord, I’ll be leaving, I just thought I’d return it, I’ll be leaving, I’m sorry, Lou-- Prince Louis, my apologies,” he’s saying as he backs through the doors. 

Louis is left standing there, silent as the rest of the people in the room break into chatter about the random stranger who has just walked into the castle and put a shoe on the Prince’s foot. 

“A. Word.” The king directs at Louis, before brusquely spinning and swiftly walking out of the room. Louis scrambles to follow. 

When they reach the king’s study, empty, the king gets in Louis’s face. “This is unacceptable. Do you not realize how it looks to have strangers in my home? It’s a fortress, you fool. It’s a haven for royalty, it’s a resort for important guests of the kingdom, it’s my home. It is not fit for you to be entertaining strange men in.” 

Louis can’t get a word in edgewise. 

“Not to mention that horrible display of... what even was that, with the shoe? How did he have your shoe?” 

“We were together and it slipped off, he must’ve been bringing it back--”

“What the hell,” his father seethes. “You... you can’t be with a man.” His meaning is obvious.

“But Dad, it wasn’t like--”

“I don’t care what it was or wasn’t, son. I know what it looks like, and it looks like you’ve been out-- God knows when-- and you couldn’t’ve been dressed if you left your shoes at his place, oh my God Louis, how could you be so foolish? I understand having your... desires, but I still demand that you either be discreet about them and not have your men be paraded in front of this family and our staff, and you marry a fine example of what a future queen looks like, like Persephone.”

Louis is speechless. He feels tears prickle behind his eyes and he ducks his head. Then he’s moving swiftly out of the study, shutting the door behind him, and running to his room. His gait is uneven because of the two different shoes he wears.

He’s a little shocked when he opens the door and finds Harry sitting in the armchair next to his fireplace. 

“Hi, Prince.”

“Harry?”

The smile disappears off the mysterious man’s face, replaced by a frown and confusion and concern in his eyes. “What’s wrong? What happened?” 

He stands up, moves to Louis. Louis lets himself be gathered up into a hug. “Just more shit from my father.” 

Harry lets him go, steps back. “What was it?”

“He thinks I’ve been sneaking out to sleep with you, that you had my shoe because I got... undressed for you.”

“I’m sorry-” Harry starts, but is interrupted by the prince.

“Which, thanks for the shoe and all, but what the hell, Harry? You totally disappear into thin air with no trace and then show up in my living room a few days later with my shoe!?”

Harry looks a little guilty. “I didn’t want to be a burden. You’d already done so much for me, you rescued me from being a frog for life without question. You hid me and kept me safe and just... I didn’t want to cause more trouble for you.” 

Louis smiles at Harry then, a little quirk of the lips. “Oh, Frog. What will I do with you?” 

Harry giggled. “Forgive me?”

Louis rolls his eyes. “Yeah, Harry, and I’m sorry for sort of yelling.”

“You’re fine, it wasn’t smart of me either to show up like that.”

Louis’s smile flattens a little, remembering what just happened in the study. Shrugs. “Eh, it’s okay. And I missed you, I didn’t have anybody to talk to. My mum’s on bedrest now. And as you can see, my father returned early from his trip for it. They’re both still pushing me at Persephone, poor girl.” 

Harry’s been back for ten minutes and Louis is already unloading on him, bless his soul. 

“Plus, I think you left your ball here.”

“Yeah! Um, I must’ve dropped it.” Louis presses the golden ball into Harry’s palm. “Thanks.” 

Louis ignores the tug in his gut, the tingling he feels in toes, the strange shiver up his back when the ball passes from Louis to Harry. 

As soon as Harry’s fingers wrap around the orb, a pounding knock sounds at the door. “Prince!” It’s Reagan’s voice.

Harry flattens himself next to the fireplace against the wall, hidden from anybody standing in the doorway, and Louis opens the door. “Yes?” 

“It’s your mother, milord.” Louis’s mind snaps off Harry almost instantly. “She’s... with your father at the moment. She’s in labor.” 

Reagan holds a hand against Louis’s chest when the prince tries to rush out to see his mother. “No, sir, you can’t see her yet. She’s in a delicate state, it isn’t proper. You can see her when she delivers. I promise I’ll get you as soon as she does, I just thought you’d like to know.”

“Yes, absolutely, thank you Reagan.” The manservant dips his head, offers a reassuring smile. He murmurs a quiet “anytime, milord” and backs away from the door to head down the hall to Louis’s mother’s room.

Louis swings the door shut. Once again, Harry’s there for him. “That’s so exciting!” he enthuses. “Louis, you’re going to have a new baby! Oh, I just love babies...” Harry’s grinning and his hands are clapped together. 

Louis’s stomach is churning though, worry for his mother clouding over his excitement. Childbirth is dangerous, and while the queen can get the best possible care, that doesn’t account for her age or the fact that she’s giving birth in an old castle. 

Like Harry can read his mind, the boy’s once again reaching for him, pulling him into another hug. “Why don’t we just sit for a bit? You tell me a story about what you’ll do when you’re king, or I’ll tell you one about my life as a frog. Ask anything. And here, hold the ball. Stress reliever, you know?”

For the next four hours, Louis sits and listens to Harry recount stories about trying to catch insects, and Harry offers several stories that only sort of make sense to Louis. Some are just strange, and Louis chalks them up to the fact that Harry must be from another kingdom. For all the time that Harry spent by his side, Louis did most of the sharing. Nobody understands him more than Harry, but now it’s time for Louis to listen. It’s a good distraction from the baby situation but it’s also... sort of fun. Like Louis isn’t just doing this for a distraction, but a genuine interest in Harry.

During a particular story about dining with a fairy who only served “fairy cakes” and how Harry offended her because he couldn’t say anything because he was laughing so hard on his sugar high, Louis and Harry are interrupted by another knock. 

Harry makes himself scarce while Louis answers the door. This time, Reagan rushes him to his mother’s room. She’s sweaty and red in the face and looks exhausted, but her smile lights up the room. 

“Twins,” a midwife says. She hands a bundle to his mother and before Louis can ask, a second tiny wrapped bundle is being passed to him. 

A tiny face peeks out the swaddling. It’s red and wrinkly and the baby has huge blue eyes and just a bit of fuzz on it’s head. 

“They’re both girls.” The little girl in Louis’s arms opens her mouth in a silent “O” when the midwife speaks. Louis presses a finger to the baby’s cheek. 

“Hey there, little monster. Did you give mummy a world of trouble?” He whispers nonsensical things after that because cooing at babies is just something that comes naturally to him at this point and this baby happens to be quite adorable, even if it looks a little like a tomato head.

Louis spends a good hour with his mother and the babies, taking turns with them. They fall asleep so quickly, and he and his mother talk about nothing in particular. Just the girls, they don’t talk about Louis’s future. 

When the first baby wakes up and makes little whimpering noises, threatening to get louder if ignored, Louis takes his exit cue. The queen smiles at him and tugs him down so she can kiss his forehead before shooing him out so she can nurse the little ones.

====

Louis rushes back to his own room, and requests a large lunch be prepared and sent to his room. 

He and Harry eat lunch together, and Harry tells more stories. Louis wants to share his sisters, but they’re in his mother’s room. She doesn’t know about Harry unless the king has managed to tell her, but Louis doesn’t want to cause a fuss today. 

===

Over the next few days, things return to normal. The queen spends more time in her room with the babies, and things seem light-hearted and merry around the castle. But Louis is still forced to attend lessons, and preparations have started for the christening of the twins. 

Harry manages to stay hidden. He disappears at night, Louis doesn’t know where to. Harry insists that he has a place in the village to stay, and Louis accepts it because it’s easier than sneaking Harry around 24/7. 

====

Two weeks after the twins are born, guests begin arriving for the christening. Most stay in one of the nicer lodges in the close village, some will stay in the castle. Fairies are expected to come, and they’ll only stay for a moment before they disappear after casting gifts.

Louis attends the christening in his best robes, and Harry somehow sneaks in the back as one of the general public. He waves at Louis, who winks at him from his position next to the bassinets that the twins are in. 

A hush settles over the room when fairies flutter to the front of the room, a light airy scent in their wake. They leave a trail in the air, a glimmering sheen floating above the ground. 

The fairies take their turns singing lullabies to the babies. One fairy produces tiny shoes woven of baby roses for the twins to wear. The next gives a blessing of understanding, the third gives beauty. The second fairy is in the middle of explaining her gift (apparently, it only emphasizes what is already present in the girls’ hearts. For instance, if they are naturally good speakers, they’ll be able to learn new languages quickly. If they love animals, they’ll be able to converse with them.) when chaos breaks out. Havoc. There’s a groaning sound as big wooden doors open, gasps and whispers as guests take in the darkly dressed figure hobbling to the front of the room. It’s a woman, and she looks... pissy. 

“I... am... humiliated!” she shrieks, throwing a hand in the air. Thunder booms, and the room dims. “Was my presence-” her voice goes shrill and somewhere, a glass breaks, “-not required? I wonder, hmm...” A gnarly finger comes up to tap at her chin. “Why wasn’t I invited? Were you scared?” She draws out the long word, leers at the royal couple. The queen has stepped in front of the twins, as has Louis. 

“Now, now,” the King starts. 

“SILENCE!” The disgruntled witch flicks a hand and the king’s mouth snaps shut. 

Louis is looking around desperately, doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know how to appease her.

“These precious twins,” she hisses, “shall receive none of the gifts these idiots gave. Who wants to sing to birds, anyways?” Her laugh is creepy and high pitched. “What a worthless, waste of talent. I give... these girls... the desire to be birds. Why talk to them? Instead, they can be birds. They won’t speak, they’ll only sit there and peck at the ground.” The witch laughs like she thinks she’s the funniest thing in the world. “They’ll flap their arms, look like fools, try to jump off tall buildings. Oops. This castle has some nice, tall, towers, does it not?”

The queen looks horrified. “We didn’t mean to ignore you, we would’ve invited you, we weren’t aware you were in the area... we thought you were in a different kingdom,” she tries explaining. 

But nothing will stop the witch, who is cackling because she just sentenced two baby girls to lives of insanity, believing that they’re birds.

The queen begins to plead with the witch to change her mind when Harry shoulders his way to Louis. The king’s eyes widen comically, and he starts pointing at Harry and shouting. No sound leaves his mouth. 

“I can help. I can fix this,” Harry’s saying. 

The queen breaks off in the middle of her sentence. “... What?!”

“I said, I can fix this. Reverse it, Kreela.” 

The witch actually looks a little scared. “It’s... you,” she says. “You’re supposed to be...”

“A frog? Yeah, didn’t work out to well for you, did it?” Harry’s staring down the witch. Louis is speechless.

“But...” Kreela’s eyes dart around, settle on Louis. “So you’ve gotten somebody’s kindness. You’ve gotten hospitality. So you’ve been released from life as a frog. But... he has your ball,” she says, motioning at Louis. 

How the hell... Louis doesn’t even have time to think about how she knows this, just feels the ball move a little in his pocket.

Harry frowns at her. “What do I need to do get you to reverse your curse?”

“Sacrifice your ball.”

“No.”

Louis is really lost.

“Then... manage to get your ball back, and this precious boy’s sisters will be saved. But, you’ll only have twenty four hours. If you don’t, your ball breaks and the girls keep the curse. Ta!” She giggles, and then with a snap and a small firework and the smell of burning skin, Kreela is gone. 

The king can speak once again, and the instant he can, he’s shouting for Harry to be taken away. The queen steps in though, putting herself between him and the guards. “No! He could save our daughters,” she implores her husband.

Louis cuts in. “Harry...?” He doesn’t even know what to say, but the boy turns to him anyways.

“Lou... There’s a lot to say. But. Uh, I might... Okay, first off, that’s the witch that cursed me.”

“Bitch.” Harry smiles a little at Louis’s sentiment.

“She told me to get two things before I could return to my human body. Before I explain... can we go somewhere private?” 

Louis nods and leads Harry out of the room. 

Harry clears his throat before continuing. “Louis, Prince I mean, I think... we’ve become friends, right?” 

Louis nods. 

“Well, I’m going to confess... when I was with you, I loved being by your side. I know you were only doing it to help me out, which just made me love you- it more. And uh, I really appreciated having someone to talk to as I fell asleep. I’ve been lonely. And the day your mum had the twins, I knew- I mean I think I know- how much you need me. And uh, now I’m gonna show you... I need you to. And like, more than just to not be a frog.”

Then Harry’s crowding into Louis’s space, he has a hand on the dark navy of Louis’s robe and the other hand cupping Louis’s chin. He tips it up and leans close, pressing his lips to Louis’s.

Louis doesn’t react for a millisecond, while his thoughts straighten out (or get more jangled...). Harry, who used to be a frog, who he was with 24/7 for three days, who came back to return his lost shoe, who just offered to save his sisters... is kissing him... he is a boy. Kissing another boy. This is so, so, not allowed. 

But Louis doesn’t give a damn, he’s pressing up against Harry in return, kissing him back. He clings to Harry’s shoulders and goes up on his tiptoes a little, tips his head a little to the side as Harry licks Louis’s lip. They break apart and they’ve got matching smiles, both their hearts are racing, and Louis feels like something inside him just lit up because that felt so right and now he feels something else... the ball he slipped in his pocket (something that belongs to Harry, trying to keep him close...) is thrumming again. It flies out of his robe and into the air, where it shatters. Gold glitter is raining on Louis and Harry who are still embracing. 

Louis swears he hears violin music, and he gasps when the ball shatters above him. “Holy fuck... Harry, I think I broke your ball. Shit, oh no, you said if it broke you... your essence or whatever you called it was dead--” Louis is panicking, but Harry leans in again. 

Harry is very effective at kissing Louis to shut him up. When they break apart again, Harry laughs a little at Louis. “I can finally explain, thank God. Okay. So from the beginning now.” The gold that’s raining down around them suddenly whooshes around, reforming itself into a ball, before zooming into Harry’s hand. He slips it into a pocket and wraps Louis up in his arms again.

Louis raises one brow. This better be good, he’s been waiting for a decent explanation for a while. 

“There were actually three things the witch cursed me with. And it didn’t all happen because of...”

“Mushrooms?” Louis supplies. 

Harry smirks. “Yeah, mushrooms. I know that’s what I told you earlier... the truth is, I’m sort of magic.”

Louis draws back a little. Magic... is sort of untrustworthy. Louis knows the stories about people who have been tricked into falling in love with magic folk, only to wake up without an ear or and eye or a tongue. What if... Harry was just using him, trying to make Louis love him to break his curse?

Like Harry can sense what Louis is feeling, he doesn’t let Louis out of his hold. He won’t let Louis run away, he has to hear him out. “Let me finish?” 

Louis nods, biting his lip. 

“Okay, so me and this witch go back. I might’ve said something to her, she might’ve been offended... and she told me I was an unkind, ungrateful soul undeserving of love.”

Louis’s mouth drops open. “I’d disagree.” 

“Thanks, love,” Harry says. “As it goes, she turned me into a frog. I’m pretty powerful, but I was a little shocked by what she said-- rookie mistake-- and she zapped me before I could counter. And so there I was, a frog. I needed to get kindness and hospitality from someone without telling my story or what I was. You did that for me. You had to free me from that depth in the stream, and then show you could be with me for three days and three nights.”

“I’d do it again,” Louis offers. “Sure, you benefitted, but like... so did I. You gave me so much guidance, and you know everything about me now. You... were the best friend I could ask for the last two weeks.”

 

Harry smiles at Louis, kisses him quickly before starting again. “The ball. It’s got my magic in it, and my human form while I was a frog. It’s got a bit of me in it at all times. To get my magic back, I had to find love. True love’s kiss breaks the ball and gives me my magic back. Please, please know that I didn’t try to make you fall in love with me. Really. I even left, you know I left. But I... I had this- something- drawing me back to you. I had to see you again, something happened in those three days.”

“The ball kept buzzing at me every now and then.” 

“Probably when one of us thought about the other.” Harry smiles at Louis. “Anyway, so I came back with your shoe. As an excuse to see you. I used a little magic, like when I left? I had to create some clothes for myself. And when I showed up in your room again, after the shoe incident? Magic.” He winks. “And so when I confronted the witch about your sisters, she knew who I was... she knew who you were, in connection to me. She just put a deadline on us.”

Louis nods slowly, absorbing everything. It’s a lot to take in. Harry loves him. He, whether he realized it or not, loves Louis. Harry was a frog, then a person, and now he’s got his magic returned in full. His little sisters are saved. 

Louis lurches up to kiss Harry again. “I... love you,” he tries out. “Thanks for saving my sisters.” 

“Anytime,” and then Harry’s kissing Louis back. 

A few moments later, Louis forces himself to take a step back. They’re in a public hallway, for Pete’s sake. He wipes his mouth on his sleeve, but it doesn’t do anything to dim the pink in his cheeks and the rubbed red in his lips. 

A sudden feeling of sadness drifts over him. “How am I gonna keep you?” 

Harry reaches for his hand. “Keep this.” He reaches into his pocket and passes Louis the reformed ball. “It’s... It still has me inside it. You’ll always be connected to me if you have it. It’s still got a bit of my soul in it.” 

Louis tries to ignore the stinging sensation of his eyes as he tries not to blink so the tears don’t show. 

A quiet cough interrupts the moment they’re having, and Louis springs away from Harry and quickly wipes his eyes on his sleeve before anybody can jump to conclusions. (Even though they’d probably be spot on.)

Louis is shocked to see his mother standing a few feet away. “Young sir--” she starts. 

“Harry,” Louis offers.

“Harry,” she begins again, a warm smile gracing her beautiful face. “I can’t thank you enough for offering to save my daughters.”

Louis interrupts again. “He didn’t just offer, it’s official now. He did what the witch commanded, Mum.”

The queen lets out a muffled sob and then is hugging both her son and Harry, and they’re all rocking together. “And Louis, darling, I don’t think you need worry about keeping Harry.” 

Louis pulls back so he can look his mother in the eye. So she had heard that part... “Wha... really? Why? Really?”

His mother laughs. “Yes, really. I think he’s deserved it. He saved two heiresses and if he’s... um, magic, then maybe he’ll be an asset in other respects.” His mother says. She sounds a little hesitant, but hopeful. 

Then everyone is hugging again, and the queen slips away to talk to the guests and explain the basic details or lie about what happened, to appease their curiosity. 

When they’re alone again, Harry bends down to kiss Louis. “As long as you have that ball, I’m entrusting you with my soul. You understand that, right?” 

Louis nods. It’s a declaration. 

Louis takes a moment to appreciate the irony. The foreign diplomat who had pissed him off so much, his parents and their pushing him towards marriage, the impending coronation that would take place in the next decade, everything that pushed him to run away that night... led him straight to Harry. A little bit of magic, a little bit of kindness... he gained a friend, someone he trusts, someone who loves him. You could even say soulmate, if the happy buzzing of the ball in Louis’s pocket is anything to go by. Now he just needs to seize his happily ever after.

And hey. He’s pretty sure that he can rule this entire kingdom, he makes the laws. So if he wants to marry a man, so be it. He thinks he should wait a bit though, but he’s not sure how long he’ll wait to talk to Harry about it. Hell, the way Harry is, he’ll end up saying something first.

Whatever happens in the end, Louis knows he’s got the best person he could ask for right by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! A good quick version of the frog prince: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/FrogPrin.shtml 
> 
> also, if you've got a question, just drop a comment :)
> 
> kudos appreciated :D


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